The Vanishing Act
by TulcaRau
Summary: In the wake of Voldemort's death, nothing works out the way it was supposed to. Harry, Hermione, and Ron are forced to go underground, or be killed by a Ministry that fears their power. No one would have thought that they would vanish completely, or take refuge in the muggle world to do so. When they happen to be on the spot for the invasion of NYC, how might things go differently?
1. Chapter 1

"I didn't know what it would be like - but I guess I never pictured anything like this." Harry said glumly, swishing his butterbeer around in his mug. Ron and Hermione muttered their assent.

It had barely been a month since the battle at Hogwarts, and the Golden Trio was hiding in a little-known wizarding pub in a dark corner of London. In the first three or so weeks after the death of Voldemort, the three had been hailed as heroes - to the exclusion of all else. There had been a mass funeral for those who had died in the final battle, and then they were never mentioned again outside of the families they left behind. The Ministry devoted it's time to worshiping the three, particularly Harry. They wanted him to become their new poster boy, and the face of their new campaign to rid the wizarding world of darkness. The main problem (besides the unwanted publicity and hero worship, and the complete lack of privacy!) was their method of deciding what was darkness.

They were planning to basically kill off all the pureblood wizarding families and build an empire of muggle-borns and half-bloods. Once the purebloods were all dead, the wizards and witches who remained were going to be forced to marry Ministry approved partners so that no more purebloods could possibly be born. Half-bloods would have to marry muggle-borns or muggles. Preventing the rise of new purebloods would ensure prevention of the rise of old prejudices. At least, such was the reasoning. All "creatures", such as giants, werewolves, and veela, were to be exterminated as well, since many creatures had allied themselves with Voldemort in the last battle. Even the centaurs were to be killed, despite the fact that they fought with the light side.

Not only were all the purebloods and creatures going to be wiped out, but everyone who was related to a Death Eater as well, up to relatives as distant as second-cousins and great-great-grandchildren. That way none of the "poisoned ideals" of Voldemort and his followers could possibly survive.

Needless to say, Harry wasn't exactly thrilled with this idea. He smiled and nodded to get as much information as he could, and then promptly leaked the entire plan to the press. For once, Rita Skeeter proved to be useful. Word of the planned purge spread far and fast. The Ministry retaliated by outlawing Harry and saying that it was all his idea. While all who knew Harry personally or had been directly involved in the war loudly proclaimed this to be absolute nonsense, others were not so believing. The hue and cry was raised, and the Golden Trio was wanted for high treason and planned genocide. Orders were to kill on sight.

Which explained why the three were under multiple layers of glamours in a run-down out-of-the-way pub.

"This isn't going to die down." Ron said glumly. "Everyone is paranoid after Voldemort, and no one is willing to risk the rise of a Dark Lord even more powerful."

"Of course." Hermione said, picking up the train of thought. "Voldemort was bad enough, but Harry must have been even more powerful if he was able to stop him. If they think that there is even a chance of Harry turning against them..."

"The Ministry knows better." Harry grumbled.

"Of course they do." Hermione said. "They know you would never turn on the people like that, especially now that you've exposed their plan. But they won't risk popular opinion turning against them now that the game is up, and you're a perfect scapegoat. All they have to do is feed people's paranoia - and viola! The public will do their dirty work for them."

Harry laughed mirthlessly. "It never changes, does it."

"They're wizards." Ron snorted. "You know, we never looked down on muggles in my family. But we never understood them, either. And Dad's fascination with all things just taught us that they were interesting things to be smiled at once in a while. Like cute little kids running around playing make-believe, you know? Or maybe some kind of weird bug that catches your attention and you ooh and ah, and the girls shriek cause they think it's gross. That's not what Mum and Dad meant to teach us, but its kind of how it came across. But I think I understand better now - if anything, the wizards are the little kids. As a sub-species, or whatever we are - we're not exactly the brightest."

Hermione raised her eyebrows. "That's very insightful, Ron."

He looked injured. "Again, the tone of surprise."

Harry grinned at his friends' banter. "I think you're right, Ron. Wizards are getting behind the times. It's time for them to take a step into the modern ages."

"They'll never take that step on their own." Ron replied, shaking his head.

"No, I guess not." Harry sighed. "Well, that's someone else's problem. What we need, is to figure out what we are going to do."

"Well that's obvious, isn't it?" Hermione asked. "We're going to disappear for a while."

Harry looked pensive. "If I'm going to disappear, Hermione, I think I'd rather it be permanent."

After a beat of silence, Ron asked, "What do you mean, mate?"

"I think it's time we grew up. Leave the kids, and join the adults."

"You want us to live in muggle world? Permanently?"

Harry shrugged. "Sort of. Muggles with magic, I guess. If we stayed in the muggle world, only contacting the wizarding world when we need something we can't get or make ourselves - how bad could it be?"

Hermione was grinning. "I'd love to go back to school. Hogwarts was great, but it only taught us magic. I want to learn the things that I would have learned if I had stayed in the muggle world."

Ron snorted. "Naturally. And here I thought we were finally done with school."

Harry grinned at them again. "I'd like to do that too, Hermione. Think about it Ron. Your brothers have taken all the cool jobs in the wizarding world. If you want to have your own cool job, you'll have to look elsewhere. Right?"

Ron snorted again. "You suck at the whole manipulation thing."

"Isn't that a good thing?"

With a shake of his head, Ron refocused on what he saw as the main issue with their plan. "But if we use magic, any at all, the Ministry will be able to trace us. That's why we had George do the glamours."

"Not necessarily." Hermione started. "They can only trace Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ronald Weasley. But that doesn't have to mean that they can trace us."

"So what, we change our DNA?" Harry asked.

Ron just gave them a confused look. "DNA?"

"Don't ask. You'll learn about it in the muggle world, if we go through with this." Hermione told him quickly. "And no, Harry. That's not what I meant."

"Then what did you mean?"

"We change our identities! Just like in the muggle world. When a muggle goes underground, they change everything. They destroy the paper trail - the documents, you know - and forge a new one. They change their names, their life stories, their bank accounts, and their friends. Well? What's to say we can't do the wizarding equivalent?"

Ron looked confused by the muggle references, but seemed to get the general idea. "There's a spell you can use, an adoption spell. Once performed, the person adopted becomes a part of the adopting family. They may not have been born into it, but they might as well have. Magic recognizes them as part of that family, and as always having been part of that family."

Hermione nodded. "And there are spells to change your name and stuff, so that once you change it you are no longer, say Ronald Bilius Weasley, and you never have been. Magic recognizes you as someone completely else, and thinks that you have always been that person."

"If we combine them..." Harry started.

"Then we erase everything. Our names, our histories, our family records - all gone, as though they have never existed. And three new people will appear, new names, new records, new family history."

"That could actually work." Ron said slowly. "But I'm not sure how I feel about it. I mean, I'm Ron. That's who I've always been. Ron Weasley - that is me. That _is_ me. That's who I _am_. And it's about the only thing that hasn't been touched by this whole stupid mess of a war."

Harry nodded slowly. "My name is the only thing I have left that really ties me to my parents. They gave me my name. Its the only thing that they gave me that I ever got to keep. I know the cloak was my dad's, but he wasn't the one who gave it to me."

Hermione sighed. "I know. And I'm a Granger through and through. My parents are off in Australia, living under new identities, completely unaware that they have a daughter. The name they gave me is the only thing that proves they ever existed. But maybe it is time to let that go. I can't get them back - I knew that when I cast the spell that took their memories. I can't keep holding on to things that could have been - or even should have been. That will only hold me back, and maybe get me killed."

Eventually Harry and Ron agreed.

"But how does one go about choosing a new name that they will carry for the rest of their life?" Ron asked.

"I don't know. What names do you like? They have to be muggle." Hermione reasoned.

"James." Harry said. "That's muggle."

"But if Harry Potter disappears at the same time as a guy named James shows up, won't people put two and two together?" Ron asked.

"What about Jim?" Hermione asked. "It's short for James, but wizards don't use it. Wizards don't know it."

Harry considered for a long time, and finally agreed. "What about you, Hermione?"

She sighed. "I think I like to still have a Shakespearean name. It's not like any wizard would know the difference."

"Hang on, what about muggle-borns?" Ron suddenly asked.

"Most of the muggle-borns that would recognize it are the first, second, and third years. I doubt that they will be privy to this kind of information. Muggle-borns that have been in the magical world long enough to have high-ranking jobs at the Ministry have forgotten stuff like Shakespeare. And nicknames like Jim." Hermione decided. "I know how hard it is to keep up with both worlds. If you live in the wizarding world, it makes sense to let the other one go."

Ron acquiesced the point. "You'd know better than me. What name do you want, then?"

She considered. "Nothing too abnormal, I should think. After all, we won't want to draw undue attention, even in the muggle world. Maybe Juliet. That's a pretty common name, I think."

"Jewel for short?" Harry asked, teasing. "Or maybe Gem?"

Though he was joking, Hermione seemed to be seriously considering it. "I suppose Gem would do. After all, everyone knows that I'm not really a girly girl. Something like Gem is the last thing anyone would suspect."

"Gem it is." Ron grinned. "But what about me?"

The two with some muggle experience fired off name after name. Eventually Ron decided on Anthony. He would be Andy for short (which had _nothing_ to do with Andromeda Tonks!) - and he wanted his new middle name to be Fred.

Eventually, they settled on these names -

Jim Daren Harrison

Juliet (Gem) Hannah Hermes

Anthony (Andy) Fred Bronsworth

That way each had part of their original first name in their new last name. They were happy to not completely give up who they had always been. As for Hermione's new last name - they knew it was a little unique, but she figured that she would always have at least one unique name.

"Are we really going to do this?" Hermione asked softly. "Once we do, there is no going back."

Harry looked grim. "What about Teddy? And Ron, your family?"

"They'll let us go." Ron whispered. "They'll understand."

"We could take Teddy with us?" Hermione suggested quietly.

"Andromeda would never allow that. She would want him to grow up Theodore Lupin, in honor of his parents. And we could never hide a metamorphagus in the muggle world." Harry said despondently.

"Once we go, we won't be able to come back to visit." Ron told him. "They'll be watched. They'll expect you to come back for him, and they'll be waiting. If we come back, it'll have to be years from now. By then he'll have grown up, and he won't know you."

Hermione was thinking hard. "Do you suppose Andromeda would be willing to leave the country? If she moves to America, she'll be beyond the reach of the British Ministry. They can't legally track or monitor her there. If she takes Teddy there, she could raise him as Teddy Lupin, and you'd still be able to see him from time to time. Not too often, because even if they can't track her legally, she'll probably be watched. But in a new community, she'd be making new friends. To have a few unknown magical signatures around from time to time would be unremarkable, as opposed to here."

Harry and Ron nodded slowly, then Harry glanced at the red-head. "We should see if maybe George wants to come with us."

Ron shook his head. "He'd love to. It'd be a great prank - the greatest he's ever pulled. Which is precisely why he wouldn't - not without Fred. And he wouldn't leave England. Not while Fred's...Fred's grave is here." He blinked back a few stubborn tears, and Hermione put her hand on his shoulder.

"We've all lost in this war. Maybe this is a blessing in disguise. I mean - we get a new start, don't we?"

"But what about everyone that we have to leave behind?" Harry asked, sounding broken. "This world, it's been all-but destroyed. Things will probably just get worse before they get better, you know that. How can we walk away from this?"

Ron shook his head. "But that's it. We've done our part. It's not our job to put the world back together. We saved it. Let somebody else do the work this time. We're just kids. I mean, we've had to grow up, fast. But that's not right. Dumbledore was a great man, but he made mistakes too. And his worst mistake, was to put the fate of the whole world on the shoulders of an eleven-year-old. And we're all still eleven, down inside. We had to grow up really fast, so in some ways we never really grew up at all." He paused. "If I could go back and do it over, I'd do it again, of course. But we should never have had to do it in the first place."

The others agreed, and Hermione smiled. "You're on a roll tonight, Ron."

"Well, I'm smarter than I look, you know."

"We know." Harry grinned.

"Hey - you basically just said that I look dumb!"

The three friends laughed together.

* * *

Three weeks later, their plans were set. They had managed a quick meeting with Andromeda as they stayed out of the Ministry's eye, and she agreed to move to America. They waited until she had gone before carrying out their plans, so that the Ministry wouldn't refuse to let her leave because "Harry Potter" suddenly ceased to exist.

They told George and Percy what they were going to do, but none of the other Weasleys. After the war they learned that Percy had been functioning as a spy in the Ministry, watching every move of Fudge and Voldemort and reporting back to the Order through Moody, and later through Tonks. He agreed to keep an eye on things at the ministry for them, promising to alert them if he heard of anything that could threaten Andromeda or Teddy in their new home. George supplied them with more Weasley Wizard Wheeze products than they knew what to do with, and was tasked with carefully telling Molly and Arthur that the Golden Trio was safe after the three had fled.

They also made a deal with the goblins that allowed Harry to seal his account away from the wizarding world. No one would be allowed access for any reason, without express permission from Harry - which would be nearly impossible to get. George and Percy were both authorized to access the vault, but only the five conspirators knew that. There was no way for the Ministry to trace Harry by his bank account.

After making these final arrangements and stocking up on every kind of wizarding supply they could possibly need in the next ten or so years (all purchases were made while they were Polyjuiced to look like random muggles), they considered their preparations complete.

The day of their identity change found them ready to get on a muggle airplane in Spain. Neville - who wasn't watched nearly as closely as the others - took them far out into the countryside by side-along apparition. He didn't know what was going on, but left them there at their insistence. Once he was gone, the three drew their wands.

"Are you ready for this?" Hermione asked.

"Ready as I'll ever be." Ron returned.

Harry just nodded.

They stood in a circle and put the tips of their wands together in the middle. In unison, they recited the necessary spells. Moments later, Harry James Potter, Hermione Jean Granger, and Ronald Bilius Weasley ceased to exist. They did not die. They were not eliminated. They simply - weren't. Alarms went off in the Ministry as all sorts of tracking and monitoring spells that were searching for the magical signatures of the three members of the Golden Trio suddenly stopped, since they were searching for something that did not exist.

Meanwhile, three friends lowered their wands.

"Well, Gem, Andy. Let's get a move on."


	2. Chapter 2

_Previously..._

 _Moments later, Harry James Potter, Hermione Jean Granger, and Ronald Bilius Weasley ceased to exist. They did not die. They were not eliminated. They simply - weren't. Alarms went off in the Ministry as all sorts of tracking and monitoring spells that were searching for the magical signatures of the three members of the Golden Trio suddenly stopped, since they were searching for something that did not exist._

 _Meanwhile, three friends lowered their wands._

 _"Well, Gem, Andy. Let's get a move on."_

Apparating to Spain from Scotland was no small feat. They took it in stages, stopping in several places in England and France before reaching their final destination.

They wanted to arrive in America the muggle way, so that there would be some record of them. In the last three weeks, Hermione had hunted down a forger of high repute, who was a muggleborn. He had used his skills during the war to help other muggleborn witches and wizards escape, untraced by Voldemort, who was then in control of the Ministry. She came to him in the dead of night, under many glamours. He created a history for them - everything from school records to things as mundane as an online file in a doctor's patient database that noted how Ms. Juliet Hermes was deathly allergic to bee stings. When it came time to add images to the files he had created, he found out exactly who he was working for. Hermione threatened him until he completed his work, and then she immediately obliviated the memory from his mind. She was very thorough - questioning by veratiserum would not remove the mental block.

The end result? The Golden Trio was virtually indistinguishable from ordinary muggles - at least in their paper trail.

When they landed in New York, they immediately set out to look for a flat. After all, they had lived in a tent for a year. They weren't too keen on camping again just yet. With Jim's money, it wasn't hard to find a place big enough for the three of them to live comfortably. They moved in, and settled down.

For the next five years, life was pretty good. All three of them worked towards finishing (or starting, in Andy's case) their muggle educations. Once they were caught up enough to be competent in college-level work, they signed up for classes. They could have gone anywhere they wanted to. Money was no problem. They were family now. What belonged to one, belonged to all. (Except for Gem's shampoo. That belonged to her alone - and if anyone else touched it, there was hell to pay.) However, none of them wanted to go to a fancy school. They ended up at a small community college.

For three of those five years, they took classes on anything and everything they had an interest in. In the two years prior, Hermione had found a time-turner on the American-Magical Black Market. They made great use of this, taking more courses than they could possibly manage otherwise. Professors and fellow students alike wondered how they did it. General consensus was that either the three never slept, or they were so brilliant that they had only to hear/read information once in order to absorb it completely. Privately, some guessed that their IQ's must rival that of Tony Stark.

In reality, they each filled their whole day with classes. All three would enroll in one class, but only one would attend the lectures. That one would then teach the same material to the others later. That way they could take three times as many courses. Because of the constant use of the time turner, they each gained four years in their three years of study. They didn't care though. They wanted to learn, and they were having fun doing it.

Besides, it was hilarious to watch their professors scratching their heads and trying to understand how they did it.

While they all took the same classes, they each had some things that they enjoyed a little more than others. Gem loved science - biology, specifically. She talked the boys into taking every biology course that the school offered, and a few that they didn't. She helped the school make a name for itself with some interesting research, and even gave a number of her own lectures on the subject. Jim decided that he loved math. Physics was his forte, and he quickly became known on campus as the go-to guy if you were having trouble with your calculus homework. Andy, however, loved technology. He got the group to take anything and everything that had to do with mechanical engineering. He also loved software programming, and was a whiz on the computer. The guys in the tech help center ended up coming to him whenever they had a problem that they couldn't solve. Privately, the group found this quite funny. After all, he had never even seen a computer until he was seventeen.

Between the three of them, they were doing very well. And they had a _lot_ of fun. Everyone that knew them - and virtually everyone on the campus knew _of_ them, at the very least - knew that they were real, down to earth people, who loved to have a good time. They made a few acquaintances, not quite close enough to be actual friends, on the campus. They were invited to go out clubbing and to go to parties, and they often accepted. But there were three things that they would absolutely never do. They would never drink, they would never read the tabloids that thrived on celebrity gossip, and they would never call anyone "Fred".

It was quite odd, really. Or so most people thought. There were a number of "Fred"s on campus, but the three would never address them by name.

"It's not personal, you understand." They would explain quietly. "It has nothing to do with you."

They never explained more fully than that.

Teddy also featured in their lives. Every two months, they would go and spend the day with Andromeda and Teddy. They varied it a little, just so that their visits would be harder to track if anyone decided to do so, but Teddy knew when they were due for a visit. He always greeted them with a shriek as he threw himself into the arms of whichever one was closest.

All in all, it was a good five years.

* * *

"Thanks, man. I really appreciate you helping me with this."

"No problem." Jim grinned. He leaned back in his chair and took a sip of his tea.

He had met the guy at this particular cafe because it was the only one in all of New York that served a decent cuppa. Andy liked coffee, and Gem had gotten used to it, but Jim hated the stuff. And most Americans had no idea how to make good tea. With the guy's math problems solved, Jim signaled his friends at a table across the way. They were doing homework while they waited for him. He had been watching and knew that they were about ready to turn back time an hour, so that they could start on their English homework. They were only waiting for him.

"I'll see you around." Jim told the student, who nodded and made his way out of the cafe. That poor guy - he was absolutely failing calculus. Well, maybe he'd pass now.

Gem and Andy plopped down in the chairs across from Jim.

"Get him sorted out?" Andy asked absently, scribbling something in his notebook.

"Mm. He should have asked for help sooner. From what I guess, he got lost in the first week and has been playing catch-up ever since."

Gem snorted. "It's not like the prof is any good."

"No, that's not helping him either, I suppose." Jim grinned.

"Oh my god!" Someone on the other side of the cafe suddenly exclaimed loudly.

Everyone in the cafe looked up just as the person who had spoken turned up the TV.

"..broadcasting live from downtown. Cathy, what are you seeing?"

"I don't know, Ted. I'm by Stark Tower, where a strange beam of green light just shot up into the sky. Moments ago Tony Stark was seen falling from high in his tower. His suit saved him just before he hit the sidewalk and some rather frightened pedestrians, according to eyewitness accounts."

"Oh my god - what is that?" The announcer sounded horrified and a little afraid.

"I have no idea, Ted! A blackness is growing around the beam of light - that's not possible. That's not possible! Ted, I am seeing _stars_ in there. It looks like this thing is tearing a hole in the sky!"

The three friends exchanged glances.

"This cannot be good." Andy muttered.

"There are things coming out of that tear!" Cathy suddenly shrieked. "Oh my god - they're shooting!"

The news reporter started screaming hysterically as people around her were gunned down. The camera fell and the lens cracked as people pushed and jostled to get out of the street. Despite the cracks on the lens, the camera kept rolling. The footage was awful; the creatures that had come from the hole in the sky were shooting green lasers, and men, women, and children all fell before them.

Abruptly, Jim jumped up on the table.

"Alright everyone, listen up!"

Instantly all eyes were on him.

"This cafe isn't too far from Stark Tower. The way those things are going, chances are we aren't safe here. We need to stay calm, and get out of here."

"We're safer inside than on the streets!" A man argued.

"Not for long." Someone else said grimly, pointing to the screen again. Now the aliens were smashing their way through walls to kill people inside buildings. "At least on the streets we can run."

A child whimpered, and an argument broke out.

Jim sighed. "Sonorus." He whispered, touching his throat. (That was another thing - they had been working _very_ hard to learn wandless and wordless magic. They were starting to get good at the each separately, but had a lot of trouble putting them together.)

 **"Alright, everybody shut up!"**

Gem quickly canceled the spell for him, since everyone was now staring at him.

"We need to move now, while we still can. Nothing above ground is safe. We have to get to the subway."

The were murmurs, but a glance silenced them.

"Now, everyone stay with at least one other person. Two people with every child. We won't all move at once, that'll attract attention. There's a subway station just down the street and around the corner. Gem, stay here and send people out, every 30 seconds or so. Andy, you get to the subway. Stand guard, help people get in. I'll stop halfway to make sure people get through. Let's move!"

No one dared to question him, and Andy led the first group out and down the street. Fifteen minutes later, Gem joined everyone else in the subway with the last group.

"That's everyone." She told Jim. "And the family in the shop next door. I looked for the owner, but couldn't find him. They say he panicked and ran off when the aliens first showed on screen. Everything's gone dark now. The power's been cut to everything. We're lucky it's light out."

"Ok. Listen up, everybody! You a lot safer here, but you should keep moving. Stay underground, but get as far away from the center of the city as you can! The subways aren't running - nothing has power. You should be safe to walk down the tracks. Keep moving, and don't split up. Numbers are good."

"You aren't coming?" Challenged the man who had argued for staying in the building.

Jim grimaced. "We've had combat training. There's a lot of people still trapped up there, who can't help themselves. We'll do what we can. Now get moving! Go! Get as far out of the city as you can, and don't come back till the government gives the all-clear! Move it!"

The frightened group fled down the tunnels, and the three friends returned to the surface.

"We could do a lot more if we could use magic." Gem said wearily. "But something this big will be broadcast over the whole world. Every muggleborn in England will be watching. They'll recognize us."

"Then we work in disguise." Andy said. "Conjuring a mask is simple enough. And we have lots of hair changing toffees from George. Let's give ourselves some colorful hair, hide our faces, and get to work. Even if we are recognized, we can't just let people die."

Jim sighed, rubbing his forehead. "What gamble did we lose in another life that we always end up in the middle of a war?"

"That's us." Andy agreed. "Always saving the world. Well, it's been a nice break. Guess we better get back to it."

Their disguises were quickly completed, and they immediately whipped out their wands. With their help, everyone on the block soon found themselves safely in the subway tunnels. They proceeded to the next block, where they found a group of people who were busy fighting the aliens. As they watched, the people finished off the aliens in the area and regrouped.

They were too far away for the friends to catch much of the ensuing conversation, and were approaching the group as a flying metal man - whom they recognized as Iron Man - came around the corner. Following him was a giant...whale-like thing that was somehow flying.

"I fail to see how that's a party." The redheaded woman in the group remarked dryly.

"What _is_ that?" Gem whispered to her friends.

"It looks like a dragon." Jim answered, suddenly.

"Great. Just great. You know, the last time we encountered a dragon still gives me nightmares." Gem muttered. "So, what's it's weakness?"

"Dragon's have spell resistant hides, that's why battle gear is usually dragon-skin." Andy told her. "Not a lot of weaknesses."

"Great. It _had_ to be a dragon. Spell-proof. Impact-proof. Fire-proof."

Andy grinned suddenly. "Only on the outside."

"What?"

"They're only fire-proof on the outside."

"That's helpful how?"

"Oh for goodness-" Andy cut himself off and strode forward. Just as the thing opened it's mouth in an attempt to swallow Iron Man, he raised his wand. "Incendio!"

The resulting explosion was quite dramatic. The trio quickly cast a shield around themselves, glad to see that the group of fighters had all taken cover to avoid being caught in the explosion. Gem disillusioned all three of them when she noticed the woman in the group glaring around suspiciously, searching for the source of the explosion.

"Ta-da!" Andy proclaimed quietly.

"Bloody hell, mate." Jim whispered. "Now they know we're here, and they just might spend more time looking for us than actually fighting."

"Doubt it." Andy returned. "They need help, and they know it. I don't think that blue leader is going to look a gift horse in the mouth, at least not until the battle is over."

Gem sighed at her friend's recklessness, but had to agree. "I think he's right. They've got bigger problems right now." She gestured to the aliens that were clinging to the sides of buildings lining the streets and roaring angrily at the small group of defenders. "All the same, we have to be more careful now." She lectured sternly. "They won't go looking for us, but if they spot us they won't necessarily know that we're helping them. I'm not keen to go down under friendly fire."

That settled, they started to move, still hidden from untrained eyes that didn't know how to spot the shimmer of disillusionment.

* * *

Steve heard an angry scream and glanced up. His eyes widened when he saw a great black eagle dive at an alien that they had missed. It was pointing it's gun at a woman who, clearly dazed, had crawled into the think of things. Before Steve could so much as breathe, let alone move, the long, wicked talons, shredded the aliens neck. The creature fell, and the eagle raised itself on powerful wings before diving at another alien. Steve marveled for a moment, before getting back to business. He wasn't going to look too hard at what had to be a miracle. They needed all the help they could get, even if it was from a strangely intelligent and incredibly fierce bird.

* * *

Gem neatly felled another three aliens with (1) an explosive curse, (2) a cutting curse, and (3) a blinding hex and a second explosive curse.

She wiped her hair out of her eyes, and glanced up at the sky, where Jim was careening about in his animagus form. She just saw his shrunken wand on a string about his neck as he wordlessly sent a powerful blasting curse at a doorway. The civilians inside the building screamed, but were now safely cut off from the chaos happening outside. And the aliens that had been about to enter the building were killed in the blast.

She snorted. "Always a flair for the dramatic." She muttered. "Don't see why he has to scream in the skies when fighting on the ground is far more practical."

Behind her somewhere, she heard Andy laugh. "Oh, come on! When is he ever practical? That's your job - and mine, when it comes to strategy. What part of breaking into Gringott's and then breaking out again on the back of a dragon do you not remember?"

Gem's lips tilted up slightly. "Sectumsempra." She hissed, not bothering to watch as her target was reduced to shreds by the curse. "Yes, well, I was beginning to think hat maybe we had mellowed a little the past few years. I suppose that would be too much for us to ask, wouldn't it?"

Another laugh was the only answer she got, before, "Bloody hell. Is she insane?"

Gem looked up to see the only woman of the other group attempting to fly an alien spacecraft toward Stark Tower. "Probably. Go. I've got this."

"Sure?"

"Do you even have to ask?"

The crack of apparition alerted her to Andy's departure. She smirked as the sound caught the attention of a few more aliens, who came over to investigate.

"I ask you!" She said, loudly enough for them to hear. "I mean, do we come over to your pitiful world and blow stuff up? This is just rude. Incendio."

The group disappeared in a fiery inferno, and she waved her wand to erect a shield around the flames. She didn't exactly want _that_ spreading.

* * *

Clint frowned as he noticed flames suddenly spring up on a street below, encased quickly by what looked like a glowing blue bubble. His eyes narrowed as he saw something move away from the flames. It was hard to see - whatever it was had some pretty impressive tech on them, since they were almost completely invisible - and he couldn't be sure. But he thought he saw a person walking casually away from the blaze. He blinked, and the sight was gone. Shaking it off, he warned Thor of a group of aliens that was getting close to the perimeter they had established. The invisible person would have to wait. He had a world to save, and sins to atone for.

* * *

Andy appeared on the flying ship behind the red-headed woman with a soft crack. She whirled to face him - and his eyes opened wide in alarm.

"Oi! Watch where you're driving!" He lunged forward and shoved at the steering device, moving it just enough that they avoided the oncoming ship they were about to crash into. "You _clearly_ have little to no experience adjusting to new technology." He gave the ship a quick once-over. "Honestly, this is a little disappointing. I thought it would be more advanced than this." He shrugged. "Look, tell me where you're trying to go, ok? There is no way I am letting you drive!"

"Who the hell are you?" She asked through gritted teeth, a gun trained on him.

He raised an eyebrow. "Do you _want_ to die? You clearly have no idea how to fly this thing, and I clearly do. Why don't you threaten me _after_ I get you wherever you're going?" His eyes widened. "Duck!"

She did, and a beam of energy shot past where her head had been a moment ago. Seconds later, the enemy aircraft containing the alien who had fired at her burst into flames.

"You're welcome." He said calmly, easily maneuvering them through the skies before beginning to grumble about the design of the ship. "Clearly could be better tech - completely inferior design. What is this supposed to be, a flying chariot? Undermines the..."

She tuned out his muttering.

He landed them gently on top of Stark Tower. "There. Now that you're not trying to kill yourself, I'll just be going. I think my friend has got herself hurt. Honestly, what does she think she's-"

He vanished with another soft crack, leaving the woman gaping after him - then reappeared a moment later. "Sorry, I almost forgot you were going to threaten me. Can it wait? I've kind of got an alien invasion to stop." He vanished again.

The woman had to bite back a scream of frustration before forcing herself to calm and focus on the situation. Worrying about the strange man wouldn't help her any now.

* * *

Tony was getting more and more confused. First that whale-thing had quite suddenly blown up all by itself, and now aliens were dropping all over the place, without any of the Avengers engaging them. There was no explanation for it. He found a sharp corner, just like birdbrain had said, and lost his tail. As he headed off to help Thor, exchanging good natured quips with the archer while he was at it, he watched another three aliens suddenly die.

One exploded without warning, much like the worm-thing had. One fell limply to the ground after it's head inexplicably just...fell off. And the third shrieked and clawed at it's eyes until it, too, exploded.

"Jarvis, run scans. Everywhere you see aliens drop by themselves. I want to know what's going on." He muttered.

Five minutes later, he was confused to hear Jarvis report that he was unable to accurately scan the areas around the dying aliens.

"I'm sorry, sir. There seems to be some sort of interference wherever this anomaly occurs."

"Switch to thermal."

"I am still unable to get an accurate reading, sir. But there is a third heat presence by the two beings that just died below. I cannot tell shape or size, only that it is present." But then, a moment later, "Sir, the extra heat presence has vanished. I can no longer detect anything unusual. My normal scanners are functioning properly again - the interference is gone."

"It seems we have an uninvited guest that decided to do a little charity work." Tony mused. He didn't have time to look into it further. Just then he got a call from the high and mighty Director Fury, telling him that the greater authorities thought it a good idea to nuke Manhattan.

He flew through the wormhole, and watched as the nuke destroyed their enemy's ship. His suit shut down, and he faded into unconsciousness.

What felt like a moment later, he awoke with a jerk. " _What the hell!_ What just happened? Please tell me nobody kissed me."

He relieved teammates smiled down at him, but before they could speak an amused British voice answered him.

"We didn't kiss you, mate, but I think Death might have. That was cutting it mighty close."

* * *

The Avengers watched in horror as Tony disappeared into the worm-hole. They saw the blast of the explosion, but there was no sign of their fellow fighter. Finally Steve gave the order, "Close it."

Above them, the still-circling eagle Steve had noticed earlier screamed and soared through the worm-hole as it began to slowly close.

"No!" Two people appeared next to the Captain Thor, who were standing next to each other on the street. A girl with wild, curly hair was clinging to the arm of a red-headed guy. She was the one who had shouted. "Jim! What in _Merlin's_ name do you think you are doing!"

"Bloody hell, mate! Don't play the sacrifice card again!" The red-head yelled.

"Damn him and his stupid saving-people thing." The girl grumbled quietly after a moment.

"He's always come out alright before..." The guy said doubtfully.

"He's never flown through a _closing_ portal into outer space before either." The girl retorted, making it clear they were speaking about the eagle.

They stared fearfully up at the sky as the worm-hole closed. As the last moment the eagle reappeared, towing a limp Iron Man behind him. They were both surrounded by some sort of glowing blue bubble.

When they reentered Earth's atmosphere, however, gravity began to drag Iron Man down. Clearly the eagle wasn't strong enough to fly carrying the heavy metal suit. The bubble disappeared as the two fell together.

"Bloody hell - he made it!" The red-head gasped.

"Jim - get clear!" The girl yelled. "We'll set him down!"

The eagle seemed to nod, and let go of the falling man. He soared to the side slightly before descending at a much more natural pace. The two humans on the ground raised what looked like wooden sticks and pointed them at Iron Man.

"Impedimenta maxima!" The girl cried.

The boy redirected his aim. "I guess you've got him." Instead he pointed his stick at the ground where the now slowly descending Iron Man was going to land. With a mutter of what sounded like more mangled Latin, the ground seemed to become like a trampoline. Iron Man bounced gently when he landed, settling easily onto the ground.

The girl held an arm out as the eagle flapped its wings near her head, and it carefully landed. The obvious care it took to not hurt her with its talons was caught Thor's attention.

"Your bird is very well trained." He boomed.

The girl gave him an odd look. "It's not _my_ bird. He doesn't belong to 's not exactly the type to follow orders, anyway."

The red-head snorted a laugh. "Not that it ever stops you from giving them!"

She glared at him, and the eagle made a strange squeaking sound that could be interpreted as a laugh. She soothed its feathers absently as she focused on Iron Man. "He's not waking up. Jim, go to Andy."

The eagle obediently flapped over to the guy and perched on his shoulder, again being careful with his talons.

The girl pointed her stick at Iron Man, but Steve stopped her.

"What are you doing?" His voice was suspicious.

She raised an eyebrow. "Saving your friend's life. Interrogate me later, ok? Right now I need to focus."

A flick of her stick shoved him to the side when he wouldn't get out of her way.

"Renervate."

* * *

Tony couldn't take his eyes off the strange duo and their eagle. "Who the hell are you?"

"You're welcome for saving your life." The girl told him without even a hint of a smile. "And now, if you don't mind, we'll be going."

The guy spoke up. "There seems to be some sort of sorcerer up in that tower I dropped your red-headed friend off at - honestly, whoever had the idea for her to try and fly an alien ship should get their head checked out. She _clearly_ had no clue how to steer the thing - and we'd better get up there to try and contain him till your team gathers itself."

The eagle screamed, and lifted off the guy's shoulder. It winged its way toward Stark tower. With two soft cracks, the two strangers disappeared, leaving the two men gaping. Thor, however, just looked contemplative.

"I was not aware that there were any Seidhr left in Midgard." He said calmly, before making his way toward the tower.

"Woah - hold up now, big guy. You mean to tell me that you know those people?"

Thor ignored Tony. "We must retrieve my brother." Was all he would say.

The Avengers assembled themselves, and made their way to the penthouse of Tony's tower, as that was the last place that anyone had seen Loki. when they arrived, they found Loki awake and attempting to flee, and three young people opposing him. Two were the girl and the red-head, but the third was one nobody recognized. He was slightly shorter than the red-head, with black hair and startlingly green eyes. A strangely shaped scar was just visible on his forehead underneath his long hair. Something gave them the vibe that it was kept long to hide the mark. Oddly enough, the great eagle was nowhere to be seen.

The three stood in a rough circle around Loki, who was raging and trying to break free. Their arms were extended toward each other, and a strange shimmering force field extended from hand to hand as they reached for each other. Gradually they moved forward and the circle grew smaller.

Thor stopped the other Avengers from interfering. "They will subdue and bind him so that, even with his magic, he cannot break loose. That is more than any of us could do."

They watched in silence as the three slowly tightened their circle. Finally, Loki was all-but encased in the shimmering force, and could not move. The black-haired guy dropped out of the circle, and the other two quickly rearranged themselves to compensate for the loss. The black-haired one then raised what looked like a carved stick and pointed it at Loki. He began to loudly chant what sounded like some sort of garbled Latin. The shimmering force disappeared, but it seemed that Loki was well and truly bound.

The two remaining dropped their arms and went to stand by their friend.

"How?" Loki snarled. Apparently whatever the tree had done had not bound his mouth with the rest of his body. "How can mortals bind me?" He was more than a little displeased by these developments, it seemed.

The girl shrugged. "Really, one would think that the god of mischief would know better than to underestimate the power of a son of the Marauders."

The red-head grinned. "Shouldn't have messed with the Golden Trio, mate. Jim's got the most insane luck - anything that goes against him loses."

The new guy just tilted his head. "You are fortunate that your brother is here to take you back to Asgard. It is only out of respect for him that we allow you to live. And do not think that we are incapable of killing you. Death is easy for me to dole out. But I will not provoke the wrath of Asgard, even if your life belongs to me by right. You have attacked my home. Consider yourself lucky that I do not send you this moment to your daughter, my servant." Suddenly the youth looked very old, and tired.

"What the hell are you?" Clint spat, leveling an arrow at them.

* * *

"You're welcome." Andy shot back at the archer. "It's not like we just saved your city, or anything. Sheesh. It's not like any of you lot could have bound him. The only one with a chance was Thor, and even he couldn't do it alone."

Clint's grip on his bow tightened.

"Cease!" Thor told him, stepping between Hawkeye and the three magicals, before he turned to the trio. "You are indeed the the Golden Trio? The ones of whom the tales are told? The ones who destroyed the great darkness?"

Jim shrugged. "Yes. We were the Golden Trio." He made a face at the name.

"But, uh, how do you know about that?" Andy piped up. "It's not exactly common knowledge..."

"The question is, how come I don't know about this?" Tony interrupted.

"Heimdall told us of the Three, who overcame the great adversity they were born to. He did not tell us that these three were mid-guardian Seidhr. But a few years ago he said that he lost sight of you, and could not see you no matter how he searched. He could only say that you were alive."

Andy raised an eyebrow. "Huh. What do you know. I guess we don't need to worry about anyone from home tracking us."

Jim smiled. "We never did. Gem did the spell. There isn't a more powerful witch in the world."

Gem blushed. "Flattery does not become you, Jim."

He grinned cheekily. "Wise men say that flattery will get you everywhere. Who are we to disagree?"

Natasha narrowed her eyes. "You're British. Who are you, what are you, and what are you doing here?"

"We're the Lions." Jim answered. After all, they were all Gryffindors. "We are magic, and we are dealing with this little problem. Well, I suppose we technically already dealt with it." His tone was sharp. "You don't have to trust us. But don't try to take us down. You will come out on the short side of that fight."

"Indeed." Thor cut in. "The Golden Trio are the most powerful individuals in all the Nine Realms."

All three winced.

"Gee, thanks for throwing that out there." Andy muttered.

"You called yourself the Golden Trio a moment ago, but now you say that you are the Lions?" Captain America questioned suspiciously.

"Stuff went pear-shaped back home." Jim muttered. "They were scared of us."

Gem put her hand on his shoulder when he fell silent, and continued the narrative. "They figured that if we were strong enough to off Voldemort, we were strong enough to be worse than he was. I suppose technically that is true, but it is true of anyone who overthrows and evil tyrant. They should have known better."

"So we want you around why, exactly? If your own people think you're going bad..." Iron Man tried again.

"Bloody hell - do you ever shut up?" Andy asked, rounding on him.

"Indeed we will welcome them always!" Thor boomed, looking angry. "This treatment of the mighty three is absolutely unjust! After fighting since they were mere children, to be treated so! It is only because of their sacrifices that their people are free."

"We've gotten over it." Jim said quietly. "We were done with the whole "save the world" thing. Happily retired, you might say. And now this. I guess we just aren't meant to have peace."

"I must beg one thing of you, Seidhr. Do not now vanish as you are able to. I must secure my brother now, and make arrangements, but wait a while, and speak with me. "

"Alright." Jim agreed reluctantly. "But we're still in hiding, so our talk stays private."

"Agreed. I thank you once again for your help in this battle. You have truly been blessed by the gods, to have such good luck forever laid upon your lives."

"How come Thor gets to make this call?" Iron Man groused.

The three smiled grimly, ignoring Iron Man, and Jim said "Thor, the only two reasons that we are alive are that Gem is smart enough for all three of us and that our luck never seems to run out."

"Thor." Captain America snapped. "How can we trust them? How can you be sure they are who you think? They are wearing _masks_!"

Gem rolled her eyes, and held up her wand. "I, Juliet Hannah Hermes, do swear on my magic that my two friends and I are the three members of the Golden Trio, formerly known by other names that have ceased. I do swear that we mean no harm to Prince Thor of Asgard, or his allies."

The air around her shimmered as she lowered her wand. "There. Magic oaths are binding. If I break it, I die. Good enough? Now, if you'll excuse us, we have frightened people to help, injured people to heal, and lots of cleanup to get started on."

She whirled on her heel and vanished with a soft pop. Andy followed. Jim glanced at Thor.

"Hang around on earth for a bit, Thor. I'll come find you for that chat."

"And how, exactly, will you find him?" Clint bit out.

Jim shrugged. "I could always just follow my patronus. Or send him a message to light up the sky. That would probably be effective too."

At that moment, the giant green creature began to shrink. He quickly turned back into a man, who clutched the torn remains of his trousers in a desperate attempt to preserve some modesty.

Jim looked surprised for only a moment. "Ah. I wondered where the green giant came from." He waved his hand, and the man was suddenly fully dressed. "This alter ego of yours, when does it show itself? Is there a certain time of the moon cycle or something?"

"When my heart rate rises too far." The man returned uncertainly.

"Hm. Interesting. Must be hard to control. I wonder if wolfsbane would help you at all. I can get Gem working on it, if you want. She's a whiz at potions. she's a whiz at everything, really. I'm sure she could fix you something that would help you keep control unless you need him. Think about it, let Thor know. He can give me your answer."

"That's it?" Natasha asked, incredulous. "You just saw that, with no prior knowledge that he could do that, and all you have to say is 'huh'?"

Jim shrugged. "Lady, I've fought werewolves, giants, dragons, and vampires. Something vaguely reminiscent of a cross between Hagrid and a troll isn't going to phase me. Besides, I know how it feels to be treated like a freak for something you can't control. And it's not pleasant."

"Vampires?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah. Nasty buggers. Really fast, too. Have to be careful what curses you use, cause they often get out of the way in time. Then you might hit an ally. And killing curses don't work on them, since they're not really alive. It sucks." He paused. "I'm only telling you this cause you're SHIELD, and I know that your director won't want this all over the internet. So the statute of secrecy is mostly safe."

"How do you know that I am a SHIELD agent?" Natasha demanded, turning her gun on him with a glare.

"Really? For starters, there's that badge. It _says_ SHIELD on it, for crying out loud. And then there's the fact that SHIELD deals with this kind of nonsense. Who else would be getting involved?"

Before she could answer, Gem's otter patronus zoomed down from the sky and stopped in front of them. It's mouth opened, voice floated out.

"Jim Daren Harrison! Get your backside out of that tower and help us. For crying out loud, people are hurt. If Thor and the rest have questions, they can ask later. Move it!"

Jim grimaced. "Damn. I'd best get moving. Gem's a terror when she's angry, worse than Andy's mum. And believe me, I'd rather face a rampaging hippogriff than Andy's mum when she's angry." He vanished as well.

"Thor." Tony said quietly. "You'd better start talking. Because if someone doesn't explain, I will lose it. So, start talking. Now."

 **The long-awaited chapter 2 is up! In my defense, it is almost 7000 words long...**


	3. Chapter 3

**Wow! Such a HUGE response to the last chapter - I'm just blown away! Thank you guys so much! Lots of people gave me suggestions and ideas, and had questions. There were several ideas that I really liked and want to use (Cody101 suggested that I let Gem and Nick duke it out, and I'm rather pleased with that idea! We'll see how the scene turns out...), and several more ideas that I really liked but that just don't fit into my idea for the story (I'm sorry!). Thank you for all the ideas!**

 **A brief segment of Q &A...**

 **What about Ginny? Where is she?**

 **I have no intention to bring anyone else from wizarding Britain into this story, unless I decide that I want someone convenient for Hulk to smash and so throw the stupid Ministry officials in his direction. In this story, Harry was never in love with Ginny. I knew that she wouldn't be in the picture, and I didn't want to hurt poor Harry more than he already is. And I just can't picture him falling out of love with her. So they were never in love in the first place, and therefore she is just back with the rest of the Weasleys being sad that Ron is gone.**

 **What will the pairings be for the story?**

 **A bunch of you really want to know the answer to this. The truth is, I really don't know. I might do a Ron/Natasha or Harry/Natasha pairing. I will probably end up with Hermione/Clint, at the very least. There will be no Harry/Hermione or Ron/Hermione, for sure. If I'm leaving canon behind with Harry and Ginny, I'm not leaving Ron and Mione together. Sorry to those of you voting for one of those pairings. You can let me know, though, in the reviews, exactly what pairings between magical people and Avengers you want to see. I promise to take the results into consideration!**

 **Is Harry MOD? What are the limits of the three's power?**

 **This is actually going to be addressed in this chapter, so hold on just a little longer. However, I will just say right here and now that the rest of the wizarding world is nowhere near as strong as these three. Again, that whole issue will be discussed in this chapter - so keep reading to find out!**

 **Why was the whole spell/name change thing necessary, since the Ministry proved with the war that they weren't too good at tracking people?**

 **Partially because that was my original idea, so I did it. Also, they weren't just looking to escape from England. They wanted to be new people, not bothered by the demons of their past. They didn't want to be haunted by people looking for them to kill them, or looking to them to fix things. They wanted out, and they got out. Besides, Hermione never does anything by half, and she made sure that their tracks were covered.**

 **Well, I think that's it... If you guys have any other questions, feel free to ask! Seriously, I was having a really awful day, and then I got on and saw how many people had responded to that one chapter and I was just like "HOLY UNICORN POOP!" (Yes, I am really that strange.)**

 _Previously..._

 _"Thor." Tony said quietly. "You'd better start talking. Because if someone doesn't explain, I will lose it. So, start talking. Now."_

"You mean to tell me that the three most powerful wizards since the time of Merlin, who disappeared without a trace years ago, have been living under our noses all this time?!"

Director Fury was not pleased.

"It is no dishonor to you that your surveillance did not detect them." Thor hurried to assure him. "Even Heimdall has been unable to locate them since they hid themselves."

Fury did not seem to find that comforting.

Suddenly and ethereal blue eagle floated into the room. All weapons were immediately trained on it. It didn't seem to care, and happily let it's mouth fall open as words came tumbling out.

 _"I'm keeping my promise, Thor. Wherever you are had better be clear of people not in the know. I'm tired and don't feel like waiting, and I definitely don't feel like doing a bunch of obliviating."_

A moment later, the Lions appeared with three soft pops.

Andy glanced at Fury. "Bloody hell. Now we'll have to obliviate him!"

"You will not bring your spells anywhere near me, or I will turn you over to the British Ministry of Magic before you can say quidditch." Fury glared.

Jim blinked. "You know of our world."

"And what I want to know is how the hell the three most powerful wizards in the world can just vanish?!"

"Oh please." Andy almost tutted. "We have Gem. We can do just about anything, if we put our minds to it."

Fury's glare deepened. "Drop the new names, Weasley. You are not in hiding anymore."

"Last I checked, yes we were." Jim put forth. "And the names we used to have aren't ours anymore, so that's pointless anyway."

"Harry James Potter. Hermione Jean Granger. Ronald Bilius Weasley."

"Not our names anymore, mate." Andy warned.

"You three are under arrest." Fury continued as if he hadn't been interrupted.

Gem raised an eyebrow. "For what, precisely?"

"Let's start with illegal immigration, and work our way up from there, Miss Granger."

Gem turned red, and her hair began to bristle and bush out. Little sparks crackled in the curls.

"Aw, bloody hell." Andy muttered. "He had to go and make her mad." He glanced at Jim. "I'll just go wait in the corridor. My ears still hurt from last time."

Harry nodded. "I'll keep her from killing him."

"Holler if you need me." Andy vanished out the door.

Jim leaned casually against the wall, watching his friend's hair crackle and spark.

Gem cocked her head staring hard at Fury as though she was reading something.

"Oh man." Jim muttered. "If she's mad enough to pull out his file, we could be here for a while."

"Nicholas Joseph Fury!" The witch exploded.

The Avengers winced at the volume and fury of her voice, and spent the next ten minutes attempting to covertly cover their ears while Gem handed Fury a tongue lashing that would have impressed a banshee.

When she finished, however, Fury did not look cowed.

"Bluster and threaten all you want." He said straightforwardly. "That means nothing to me. You used a spell to change your name. Good for you. However, the fact remains that you are Hermione Jean Granger, one third of the famous Golden Trio, and daughter of two dentists in Australia who cannot even remember her."

Jim raised his head, and flung out an arm toward Gem - just in time to stop her from thrashing the Director physically as well as verbally. "Andy - get in here and give me a hand!" He shouted.

The red-head reappeared, took one look at the situation, and glared at Fury. "He mentioned her parents, didn't he."

Jim nodded grimly. "Calm her down, would you? You always do that better than me."

Gem was so angry that her hair was a solid flame, and she was seething. Dark mist gathered around her.

"Shit." Andy cursed.

Everyone looked at him in surprise, since he had yet to do anything other than call things "bloody". The Avengers got the feeling that if he was cursing, it was very bad.

Jim had turned toward Fury, but whirled back around when he heard Andy curse.

"Sweet Merlin." He groaned, in miserable awe. He shot a glance at Thor. "Make sure this room is sealed. No one comes in, no one goes out. And no one comes near us. Understood?"

Thor nodded, and Jim put his hands on Gem's shoulders. Andy was holding her arms.

"Gem - Gem!" Andy called urgently. "You've got to calm down! You're pulling the death card, Gem."

"Come on, Gem." Jim urged. "Control. You know how to do this. We haven't spent weeks practicing control only for you to lose it now. It's trying to draw you in. Don't let it."

After a tense five minutes, the dark mist began to disappear, and her hair stopped flaming. Gem sagged against Jim.

"I didn't hurt anyone, did I?" She asked tiredly.

"No. I got Andy in here in time. Are you in control now?"

"Yes." She returned shortly, again glaring at Fury. "But someone is going to get a piece of my mind."

"Good." Andy shot back. "Bastard deserves it."

Fury was not amused. "What the hell was that?"

Jim glared at him. " _That_ was you almost losing your life, because you were a total idiot."

Fury was still not amused. "Explain."

"You are not in any position to make demands." Gem told him shortly.

"You say you nearly killed me, I think that damn well gives me the right-"

"YOU are the reason I lost control." She spat. "You are a heartless, insensitive dick."

Tony snorted, but silenced himself when Andy glared in his direction.

"You think that you can tromp all over people - just do whatever you want. Well, you might get away with it most of the time but not now! You hit people, and they know that you are too big for them to hit back. Well, I _can_ hit back, and my punches will hurt a lot more!" She paused, and stared at him.

Fury suddenly jerked, and glared at her. "Stop that."

She smirked evilly. "You think it's funny to mess with people's weaknesses? Ever hear of the Golden Rule? Don't do to others what you don't want them to do to you."

Fury jerked again, and reached up to rub his eye-patch. "Stop that!"

Gem relented. "Not so fun, is it."

"What did you do to him?" Natasha demanded, aiming her gun at Gem. Thor leaped between them, gesturing wildly at the Black Widow for her to stand down.

"Really?" Andy groaned, and disarmed the woman with a flick of his wrist.

"Please, my friends. The Lady is well within her rights to challenge the callous misuse of her heartbreak." Thor tried valiantly to diffuse the situation.

Tony just looked at him. "...Really, Shakespeare, you need to update your vocabulary."

Clint was also glaring at Gem, and he leveled his bow at her. "Get away from him."

Gem raised an eyebrow. "I am used to dodging spells, idiot. You really think that an arrow is going to phase me?"

"Please, my friends! Do not antagonize them!" Thor tried again, a little more desperately this time. His voice was loud enough that everyone else finally shut up. "You know not what power you provoke! 'Tis the height of foolishness. Wake not the sleeping dragon."

Gem finally smiled slightly. "Best not to tickle it, either."

Jim and Andy both chuckled slightly at that.

"I don't understand." Steve said slowly.

"Do you ever?" Tony shot back.

"None of us understood that reference, I think." Bruce tried to settle things again.

"Why don't we start with exactly what this dragon can do, and go from there?" Tony suggested.

"Works for me." Steve agreed.

The three magicals exchanged looks.

"When did this go from grilling the bastard to a Q&A session?" Andy grumbled, and sent a quick stinging jinx at Fury, who jerked again.

Jim sighed. "I did agree to talk to Thor."

"And if someone like Voldemort shows up again, having this lot on our side could be helpful..." Gem added.

Andy sighed. "Fine. But we're finishing this later!" He added, glaring at Fury, who actually flinched.

Gem smiled calmly at the Avengers. "This "dragon" can do just about anything it puts its mind to."

"Within reason." Andy added quickly. "Actually we're not sure exactly what the limits of our power are."

"High enough that even Thor is treating you with caution." Tony cut in.

Jim nodded. "It's more a respect thing. We could wipe out half the city below us with just a thought. He knows that and treats us accordingly."

"And how could you do that?" Steve was focused more on the puzzle that these three presented rather than Thor's response to them.

Andy shrugged. "Not hard when we've got the Master of Death on our side."

"Master of Death?" Bruce echoed.

Jim sighed. "There are several incredibly powerful magical artifacts that fell into my hands while I was fighting Voldemort."

"Well, really, they were looking for him. After all, he is the last heir of the Peverell line, and the Peverells were the original holders of these artifacts. As the story goes, they were gifts from Death itself - though Death has neither confirmed nor denied that theory for us."

"As I was saying?" Jim interrupted Gem before she could go off on a new tangent.

"Right. Sorry." She looked sheepish.

"When these artifacts were united in the hands of their rightful holder, they granted the powers of the Master of Death."

"Which are what exactly?" Tony interrupted.

Jim sighed and pointed at Gem. She shrugged.

"Well, basically the MoD has a major power boost. See, there's a limit to how much magical energy ordinary wizards can use at a time. And there's a limit to how powerful a particular spell might be. The MoD doesn't have either of these limits. He can keep using magic forever and never face core exhaustion, and he has complete control over the power level of every spell. Also, theoretically, being MoD gives him the ability to perfect both wandless and wordless magic - though we are still working on that. Additional abilities show themselves when they are needed, such as our ability to magically bind Loki earlier. I don't think there is another group of magicals in all the realms that could have bound him completely. Even Odin couldn't bind the lies that constantly flow from his tongue, but we did. We can also look at any individual and tap into our power to learn all about them. That's what I was doing with the bastard over there before he started asking for death."

"But it's not all power." Andy cut in, seeing the Avengers shift uneasily. "There's a lot of responsibility. The MoD oversees the balance of life and death in the world. Normally it's not a problem, and the natural cycle is fine. But when there's a major war or disaster and thousands of people lose their lives, that's when the tipping balance puts the MoD on alert that something is wrong. It is then up to him to right the balance. That is where miracle stories often come in - people who shouldn't be alive but somehow manage to survive. They are the attempt to restore the balance."

"Then why didn't you step in with Loki sooner?" Natasha demanded. "He killed eighty people in two days."

Jim nodded. "If the balance tipped enough to alert us every time there was a shooting or minor disaster, we would never get any sleep. It sounds callous, but eighty people are simply not a concern to the MoD. To us as individuals, even a single person is very important. But that doesn't mean that our powers alert us every time someone dies. That happens every few seconds anyway."

This did not seem to reassure anyone, but Steve spotted another hole in the story. "You keep speaking of this Master of Death as if he is one person, but then you speak of these powers you hold as though all three of you are this person."

"Well, yes." Andy said. "That's because both are true."

Gem started again. "We've been through everything together. We continue to go through everything together. Jim pressed Death until it gave in and told him of a way that we could share this burden and privilege. Jim was the holder of the Deathly Hallows, but death told us how we could all three be their holders. Each of us holds - I suppose you could say represents - one Hallow, though we all draw power from them all."

"And just what are these "Hallows"?"Clint demanded.

At that, they hesitated. Finally Jim said, "It's not like they can use them. They're not magical, only Thor could even try. And even if they could use them - they are hidden until we die. We're not doing that anytime soon, so..."

Gem and Andy agreed, and Gem took up the narration.

"The first is the Invisibility Cloak. Kinda does exactly what it sounds like - turns you completely invisible, unplottable, etc. Nothing can see through it, not even Death itself. Second is the Resurrection Stone. It can't actually bring people back from the dead, but it can save anyone who is dying, no matter how tenuous their hold on life. And it can call up the dead so that you can interact with them. The third is the Elder Wand - the most powerful of the Deathly Hallows. It grants the person who knows how to use it unimaginable power. Andy holds the Cloak, I hold the Stone, and Jim holds the Wand. That means that we each have a special amount and kind of power based on our Hallow, but we still benefit from the power of them all."

Andy nodded. "We each have our area of specialty because of our Hallow. Jim is sheer power, enough said. I am underestimated - everyone thinks that the cloak is the weakest of the Hallows, though it's not - and I use that to my advantage. Gem is best at actually dealing with Death (Jim and I are too impatient) and also at dealing with people. But we still operate the way we always have. Jim is the power, the point-man and decision-maker in whatever we do. Gem is the brains, the one who tells us what we're dealing with and how we have to deal with it in order for it to be, well, permanently dealt with. And I'm the strategist, the one who gets us from point A to point B, and makes it possible for the brains and the power to work together."

Gem finished. "So, Jim is the Master of Death. And we are his deputy/helper/coworker things."

"He's Santa and you're the elves." Tony decided.

Andy shrugged. "Sure. Whatever floats your boat."

"And what was the reference about tickling dragons?" Tony asked. "Not that it's important, but I'm curious."

"School motto." Gem said, and left it at that. She glanced at Fury. "Don't think that we're done with you - we're not." She waved her wand, and he suddenly grew bright pink hair. Another wave had his clothes and eye-patch a gaudy shade of orange. "Those will stay like that until you feel actual remorse for saying what you did."

Andy and Jim gathered themselves and stood bye her.

"We'll be in touch." Jim told Thor, before all three disappeared with soft pops.

"Well." Tony said, eyeing the Director of SHIELD, who was speechless with anger and horror at the state he had been left in. "I'd say you'd better get to work on that whole feeling remorse thing. And what kind of school has a motto like that?"


End file.
